Mayo aka The Gil Mayo Mysteries (BBC-1 2006, Alistair McGowan)

Crime drama series Mayo  followed the cases of the pedantic Detective Inspector Gil Mayo (a rare lead role for Alistair McGowan) and his team, one of who, newcomer Detective Sergeant Alex Jones (Jessica Oyelowo) is a former girlfriend of Mayos. The others on the team are DC Martin Kite (Huw Rhys) and scene of crime expert Harriet “Anorak” Tate (Lou Brearley). The team work out of the Wistern Valley Police force and Mayo was a single parent with a wife who had disappeared some three years earlier.

With great opening titles, reminiscent of a late fifties Saul Bass/Alfred Hitchcock movie Mayo has the same kind of light hearted tone as Jonathan Creek. There is much flirting between Gil and Jones and the team actually have as their base a police pantechnicon with Gil’s penchant for recreating the crime scene using small scale models given plenty of prominence (even down to him buying miniature models from ebay).

The series was written and created by Simon Booker. The 8 hour long episodes aired on BBC One from 12 March – 30 April 2006.

Clever quote
“It’s not a bald spot, I’m just getting ever so slightly taller than my hair”.

production details
Writer: Simon Booker / Script Editors: Catherine Moulton, Surian Fletcher-Jones / Additional Dialogue: Alistair McGowan / Books: Marjorie Eccles / Costume Design: Clarissa Bromelle / Production Design: Jacqueline Smith / Music: Joby Talbot / Titles: Peter Anderson / Executive Producers: Sally Haynes, Will Trotter / Director: Metin Huseyin / Producer: Rebecca Hedderly

cast
ALISTAIR McGOWAN as DI Gil Mayo
JESSICA OYELOWO as DS Alex Jones
LOU BREALEY as Anorak
HUW RHYS as Martin Kite
LUCY EVANS as Julie Mayo

THE EPISODES
1. EPISODE ONE
2. EPISODE TWO
3. EPISODE THREE
4. EPISODE FOUR